Alex Samuels

Alex Samuels
is a political reporter for The Texas Tribune where she helps with our national campaign coverage, writes stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas and covers the hottest political news bubbling out of local communities. She is also one of the primary authors of The Blast, the Tribune’s subscription-only daily newsletter for political insiders. Alex was previously the Tribune’s community reporter, but began her stint with the organization as a fellow in 2016. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. She originally is from Massachusetts and is the best ping pong player at the Tribune.

As lawmakers in Austin work to pass a sweeping school safety bill, many Santa Fe survivors and their loved ones say they’re focused less on what’s happening at the Capitol and more on what can be done to rebuild and uplift their community.

In a party-line vote, the upper chamber advanced a bill that would make it more difficult for cities and state agencies to remove or alter historical markers. The legislation comes amid a larger debate over whether to keep or remove Confederate monuments.

State Rep. Dade Phelan added the provision to a Senate bill that would bar cities from enacting rules on how businesses schedule their employees’ shifts. LGBTQ groups worried that without the language, businesses could pick which employees get certain benefits.

Black students, who are already overrepresented in disciplinary referrals, say their fears come as lawmakers consider a slew of bills to expand the state's school marshal program in response to a deadly shooting last year.

The lower chamber gave initial approval to a bill creating a pretrial process to determine if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled — more than 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court said executing such prisoners is cruel and unusual punishment.

The executive director of Texas Gun Rights said Bonnen should apologize for how he characterized McNutt's lobbying efforts for "constitutional carry" legislation that has since been declared dead in the lower chamber.